Leevi Madetoja: Symphonies 1 & 3; Okon Fuoko Suite / Helsinki PO, Storgårds

Recommendation

In an earlier review on Expedition Audio from about a year ago (March 12th to be exact), I recommended John Storgårds' recording of Leevi Madetoja's Symphony No. 2 with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra on the Ondine label. This current release from January 2013 is of Madetoja's First and Third symphonies as well as the suite from his ballet Okon Fuoko, a work with a somewhat more modern bent that is considered to demonstrate some of Madetoja's finest writing for orchestra.

Leeve Madetoja (1887-1947) was a student of Sibelius, and as a symphonic composer, he was also well respected by the Finnish master. Madetoja studied music in Helsinki up until 1910 at which time he travelled to Paris, Vienna and Berlin for studies with Vincent d’Indy and Robert Fuchs. The premieres of all three of his symphonies were well received and Madetoja was regarded to be one of the most important Finnish composers in the generation after Sibelius. While they certainly differ in various ways - the Third owes more of a nod to the French post-romantics for example - Madetoja's symphonies can be described as of a late Romantic temperament, full of interesting rhythmic diversity, colorfully orchestrated, concisely structured and imbued with Scandinavian folk elements. They also tend toward a dark, somber atmosphere. The sample in the sidebar is the first movement Allegro from the Symphony No. 1 in F major, Op. 29. You can also play the video below to hear excerpts from the previous Madetoja - Storgårds release of the Second Symphony.

While Madetoja's orchestral music is fairly well represented on disc, little of the composer's vocal music has been recorded; the cantatas and choral works are ripe for discovery. Hopefully Mr. Storgårds will continue his Madetoja project and give us some of these as well as the less recorded orchestral suites, symphonic poems and overtures.

Album Overview

This recording completes Ondine's cycle of all the three Madetoja symphonies. The first, the Symphony No. 2, was released in January 2013.

A contemporary of Jean Sibelius, Leevi Madetoja's work reveals a merging of Ostrobothnia folk songs influences, French elegance and an elegiac nature.

John Storoerds has been Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of BBC Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012.

Source: Ondine.net

Leevi Madetoja, composer	Leevi Madetoja Madetoja (17 February 1887 – 6 October 1947) was a Finnish composer. His music is strongly influenced by the traditional music of his home region, Ostrobothnia. His three symphonies are based on the legacy of Sibelian and Russian romanticism, Gallic clarity and folk elements. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leevi_Madetoja
John Storgårds, conductor	John Storgårds Award Winning, Finnish violinist and conductor. In 1996, Storgards became Artistic Director of the Chamber Orchestra of Lapland. With the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, he became Principal Guest Conductor in 2003 and subsequently Chief Conductor in autumn 2008, for an initial contract of 4 years. His Helsinki contract has since been extended to 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Storgårds
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra	Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the first professional symphony orchestra to be founded in the Nordic countries, has been operating without a break for 130 years. During this time it has grown from a band of 36 players to an orchestra of 102 regular members giving concerts attended by a total audience of a good 100,000 a year. www.helsinkiphilharmonicorchestra.fi

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